The Hug
by JennaTripped
Summary: T'Pol gets a hug.


Author: JennaTripped 

Title: The Hug

Rating: G

Spoilers: Spoilers and speculation on unaired episodes of season 4. Beware!

Summary: T'Pol gets a hug.

A/N: I wanted to make this as simple as Vulcanly possible.

* * *

Trip bounced his legs with nervous energy, his booted feet making quick tapping sounds against the floor of the shuttle that was taking him back to Enterprise. Back to Enterprise… Trip let his mind wander and didn't notice the annoyed glances the young pilot kept shooting his way. He missed his ship and his engines and his friends. But he wasn't kidding himself. He missed T'Pol the most even though he knew intellectually that nothing had changed between them. The last time they had spoken outside of work she had told him she wanted to leave their relationship "in the past." 

He wondered if she'd had as little luck as he had.

"Sir?"

Trip smiled to himself and shifted in his seat, peering out the window as Enterprise loomed before them.

"Sir?"

Trip looked up at the ensign.

"Yah?"

"Could you, um, stop tapping your feet, please Sir?"

"Oh, sorry Ensign."

Trip crossed his legs to stop the tapping. He was excited to see her again, but there was a tense, unmoving, knot of fear settled in his stomach as well. He no longer had any idea how to act around her. It had been easy before. A tease here, a light comment there, then add a smile and she responded to him. He loved arguing with her. But it was different now. Trip felt like he shouldn't do anything that would ruin their relationship further. For the millionth time he cursed Koss, even though he knew it had been T'Pol's decision.

Hell, she probably wouldn't even be there to greet him.

Trip heard the pilot speaking to Enterprise, and Hoshi's familiar voice drifted to his ears. They were almost there.

Before Trip knew it, the shuttle hatch popped open and he was unbuckling his restraints, picking up his bag, and stepping out into the shuttle bay.

He grinned when he saw Malcolm waiting for him, his eyes quickly flickering over the rest of the bay and then closing for a brief moment in acceptance that she wasn't there.

"Commander."

"Lieutenant."

Trip leaned forward and grabbed Malcolm in a rough, one-armed hug.

"I see the ship's still in one piece."

"Yes, well. Lieutenant Hess wanted to burn a few phaser marks into the walls to scare you, but of course I refused to cooperate."

"Of course. Weapons aren't toys."

"Indeed." The two exchanged another grin. "Sorry no one else is here to meet you. Everyone missed you though. I swear, if I have to hear one more complaint of 'Oh, Commander Tucker would have done this' I might very well shoot my bloody head off."

Trip cracked up at the whiny, high-pitched voice Malcolm put on. He had no idea who he was trying to imitate, but it was funny nonetheless.

"Anyway, you're not on duty until tomorrow. The Captain must have wanted you to have some time to get back into the swing of things."

"That was nice of 'im." They exited the shuttle bay walking side by side. "So… anything else happen while I was gone?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary." Malcolm stopped. "It's good to have you back, Trip. And I think I speak for everyone." Malcolm met Trip's eyes intensely.

"Thanks, Malcolm."

"Now, get some rest, no one will be taking it easy on you tomorrow!"

"I will. See ya."

Trip's happy mood from seeing Malcolm again faded away somewhat as he walked to his quarters alone. He should have put more thought into Captain Hernandez's offer…

He keyed in the access code to his quarters and walked inside, only to stop short at the site that greeted him. T'Pol sat benignly in his chair at his desk, her dark eyes fixed on him. He opened his mouth to say her name but no sound came out. He stared at her mutely as she stood up and walked towards him. Trip was confused. She seemed so uncertain, and a strange buzzing had started in the back of his head. He could hear his blood pumping in his ears and he swallowed shakily.

He set down his bag and clenched and unclenched his hands, still watching her. If he tried he could reach out and touch her…

Trip opened his arms in a futile gesture and sucked in a breath when T'Pol stepped forward into his arms. Reflexively, he closed them around her warm back and inhaled the sweet smell of her hair when she tucked her head under his chin. He felt one of her hands take hold of the back of his uniform while the other lay flat at the small of his back. A feeling of peace and tranquility suffused him and he let out a soul-weary sigh and nuzzled his face against the top of her head.

The tension that had been T'Pol's constant companion for the long three weeks Trip had been away leeched out of her and she echoed his sigh. Her sensitive nose picked up his familiar smell, mingled with dust and something foreign, probably from his time on Columbia. She adjusted her head against his chest and closed her eyes, holding him tighter. After a moment of silence, she realized their hearts were beating in time, and something felt very right about that.

She'd never known how good a simple hug could feel.

* * *

The end. I'd love some feedback! 


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